Official: 1980s ALCM Remains Accurate, Reliable Strategic Deterrent (Updated)
Posted: Oct. 16, 2014
Air Force Global Strike Command's bomber test manager has expressed confidence in the reliability and accuracy of the decades-old Air-Launched Cruise Missile following a successful test flight at the Utah Test and Training Range in September. Noting some age-related concerns and hopes for a follow-on cruise missile, known as the Long-Range Standoff Weapon, Larry Hannon, of AFGSC's weapons and tactics office, said the nuclear-capable ALCM continues to be a robust strategic deterrent, and service-life extension programs and periodic engine overhauls should keep the weapon viable through 2030. All three legs of the United States' nuclear triad -- the bomber, missile and submarine forces -- consist of Cold War-era weapon systems that need replacing over the next 20 years. The Air Force plans to invest billions of dollars over the next decade procuring new long-range bombers, nuclear-capable cruise missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles through various recapitalization programs, and the Navy is pursing an Ohio-class submarine replacement program. The ALCM, like the B-52 bomber and the Minuteman III ICBM, is expected to remain in service through 2030, or until a replacement comes online. Periodic tests like the one in September help maintainers at Tinker Air Force Base, OK, identify parts that need replacing and highlight any reliability issues. In an Oct. 10 interview with Inside the Air Force, Hannon discussed the results of the September test, which evaluated the nuclear-capable version of the ALCM, designated AGM-86B. He also commented about the reliability of the 50-year-old B-52 Stratofortress, which carries the ALCM. He said the old bomber's reliability is "trending in the positive direction."
The test on Sept. 22 involved two B-52s from the 20th Bomb Squadron. The aircraft emulated a tactical mission, flying from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana to the Utah Test and Training Range where they were given clearance to release one ALCM. The ALCM, a subsonic cruise missile with an unclassified range of 1,500 miles, flew for more than three hours, all while transmitting air vehicle telemetry data back to weapons testers. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) also received data from its testing device that emulates the ALCM's W80 nuclear warhead. Although not an actual nuclear test, the ALCM was destroyed once it reached the target. "This test was completely successful and everyone from U.S. Strategic Command and Global Strike Command were very pleased with the outcome," Hannon said. "The testing sends a signal that it's a viable deterrent, but it is also a cradle-to-the-grave type of test. It provides great training for the crews to ensure they can execute this mission, but the testing itself is truly how we confirm the reliability and also detect any issues in the system that we need to fix so this missile continues to be serviceable through 2030."
The entire test process is known as the Nuclear Weapon Systems Evaluation Program, or NucWSEP, and is conducted six to seven times per year depending on available funds. The Sept. 22 test coincided with a larger strategic deterrent exercise conducted by U.S. Pacific Command known as Valiant Shield as well as a Minuteman III test launch from Vandenberg AFB, CA. Hannon described the bomber run, which culminated in the ALCM test, as an end-to-end test that evaluates the bomber crews of the 8th Air Force at every point of the mission, from loading and takeoff to deployment of the ALCM and, if all goes well, simulated destruction of the target. The Air Force is primarily responsible for sustaining the air vehicle component of the ALCM, but Hannon's team works closely with the NNSA to determine the reliability of the W80 warhead by gathering data from a unit known as the W80 Joint Test Assembly. "They provide the payload asset, and through telemetry we're able to monitor that asset's functionality," he said. "They capture all of their specific payload data, and they evaluate it and they report to us the reliability."
With the retirement of the AGM-129 Advanced Cruise Missile in 2012, the AGM-86B is now the Air Force's only nuclear-capable cruise missile. Development of an ALCM replacement through the Long-Range Standoff Weapon program was pushed out by around three years in the fiscal year 2015 president's budget due to competing priorities, such as the new bomber program. This means the ALCM will remain in service even longer than anticipated. Hannon said the service's inventory of 560 ALCMs will be kept viable through a series of service-life extension programs (SLEPs), and each F107 turbofan engine is overhauled every six years. About half the inventory has received the SLEP since that program started in August of FY-11, he said, and so far 19 refurbished ALCMs have been tested. "This weapon system was designed and built in the late '70s and early '80s, so it was designed with a 10-year service life and it's far exceeded its service life," Hannon said. "They are aging, and so we are continuing to test to ensure they stay reliable during this aging process. It is still meeting all of our design specifications for reliability and accuracy. We are seeing some aging concerns, but we're addressing each of those and it is still staying reliable -- but it is aging and we are looking forward to a follow-on system."
Hannon was unable to speak to the importance of delivering the Long-Range Standoff Weapon in a timely manner, but service officials within Global Strike Command and at STRATCOM have commented that delivering an ALCM replacement remains a top priority. "Moving forward with the replacement for the Air-Launched Cruise Missile is just as important as having a future bomber," STRATCOM Chief Adm. Cecil Haney told a forum in Washington recently. Regarding the B-52 bomber, Hannon said its reliability is trending in a positive direction thanks to a series of upgrades. He said the 50-year-old bomber's reliability could be further improved with installation of a new radar system, and he noted there is also talk of a re-engining program to keep the B-52 viable out to 2040. "It is staying viable but I do want to emphasize, along with the cruise missile, the B-52 is still aging and we're putting in a lot of effort to keep it viable," Hannon said.
AFGSC Chief Lt. Gen. Stephen Wilson discussed the potential for an engine replacement program at an Air Force Association event in Washington earlier this month. "Industry has come to me and said they think there's a way we can do this," Wilson said. However, the general noted there is currently no funding anywhere to support such an effort.
The AFGSC has about 76 B-52 bombers, each powered by eight Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engines. Not all of the bombers are nuclear-capable, and there is a conventional variant of the ALCM known as the AGM-86C Conventional Air-Launched Cruise Missile. -- James Drew